


Coffee

by KirbyWrites



Series: Short Drabbles I Decided To Make [16]
Category: Kirby (Video Games), Kirby - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Sleep Deprivation, Tired smol borb, cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-23 04:41:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20236906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KirbyWrites/pseuds/KirbyWrites
Summary: Meta knight's finished his most important project, and now all he needs is sleep. But Dedede's tickle fight keeps him up, and when he collapses the next morning, Dedede's there to take care of him.





	Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> Meta Knight does not know the word "self-care" and thus can stay up for days on end on coffee alone to finish a project.

Meta Knight winced as another squeal cut through the air. He groaned and buried himself under his pillow, hoping to muffle the excited squeals echoing through the castle. 

The timing could not have been worse for Dedede’s tickle fight; the knight had retired to bed hoping for some actual rest after staying up for days on end to finish a project, and the king decided to have a sleepover with Kirby on the exact same day. He was physically and mentally drained, but when he closed his eyes to try and get some sleep, another joyous shriek startled him, forcing him to open his eyes again.  He rolled over and yawned, trying his best to block out all noise with his pillows and blankets. The warrior tried to sleep again and when the expected shriek didn’t come, he sighed in relief, letting his eyes crash shut. 

It had been a while since Meta Knight had an actual sleep, and he was running on fumes by now. Another shriek didn’t come for a long time, and the knight fervently hoped that whatever Dedede and Kirby were doing was over. His hope grew and grew until a loud _poyo_ and what sounded exactly like a hammer hitting the wall cut through his sleep-deprived mind. 

It continued on for what seemed like forever, the warrior writhing to try and block out the sounds. 

When they finally stopped, Meta Knight saw it was past midnight and he lay back down on the bed, the world spinning around him. His lack of sleep was finally taking its toll and he wanted to sleep  _ so badly _ , but nothing could help him. 

He stayed in the dark, the faint glow from his silver eyes illuminating some of his surroundings, and he halfheartedly considered getting up to clean off his desk when he still couldn’t fall asleep- it was still a mess since he had immediately fallen onto his bed as soon as he was done. But he could hardly move his aching body, much less get up, likely as a result from sitting at his desk all day. 

Having nothing else to do, the knight grabbed Galaxia from her sheath, every movement agonizingly painful, and placed her on the nearby sidetable with a wince. She glowed with what seemed like worry for a brief moment before dying down.  _ Dear, you really pushed your limits today. I wish you wouldn’t be so determined with your work… _

_ It was important, Galaxia. If it wasn’t important, I wouldn’t have spent all day working on it. _

_ Your friends haven’t seen you in days. They’re becoming extremely worried. _

_ They can wait a while longer. I just need to sleep, Galaxia. Sleep, sleep, sleep, Nova, I’m so tired…  _

_ Goodness, dear, you pushed yourself much too hard. Here, I’ll help you. Have a pleasant rest, Meta Knight. _ The knight closed his eyes again and Galaxia’s fire wove through his body, relaxing his muscles and pushing him towards sleep at the same time. 

_Th-thank you… Galaxia…_ _The help… was much appreciated… _

“Hey Mety, ya finally came out o’ your room! Say, what’s that ya drinkin’?” Dedede peered over his knight’s pauldron and studied his cup intensely. 

Meta Knight usually wasn’t in the kitchen this early in the morning, and he never looked as tired as he did today. His wings were out, drooping from exhaustion instead of tightly folded against his back, and he looked as if he didn’t want to move unless absolutely necessary. His entire body was shaking from all the caffeine and lack of sleep, and his paws quivered. Galaxia, normally slung across his back, was loosely clutched in his paw, and it seemed ready to fall at any moment. His grip was barely tight enough to keep the sword in his paw, and after a while, he sheathed it.

“It’s coffee, Dedede,” Meta Knight yawned, lifting his mask to take a sip. “Please tell me you know what it is.”

“What do ya mean,  _ o’ course _ I know what it is! It… uh… makes sure ya don’t fall asleep! An’ you’ve been drinkin’ it to finish that project of yers!”

“Yes, and after what happened last night, I desperately need it, lest I fall asleep in the middle of the hallway.” The knight glared at the king, and he still felt like he could knock out that very second. Had it not been for the caffeine in his system, he would’ve sprawled out on the table already, like all the other nights where he’d stayed up as late as he possibly could.

“W-wha’? Wha’ exactly happened last night that ya need coffee first thing in the mornin’? Don’t ya normally wait in yer room ‘fore ya drink coffee?” Meta Knight groaned and rubbed his face, trying his best to conceal a yawn. The king could see the dark bags under his knight’s eyes when he took his mask off and set it on the table.

“Your tickle fight with Kirby kept me up past midnight,” the warrior said accusingly, his eyes narrowing. “If I stayed in my room, I wouldn't have shown up to patrol because I would've fallen asleep again.”

“A-ah, sorry ‘bout that, Meta… we thought ya were asleep when we started… we purposely started it late…”

“Well, I clearly wasn’t. I’m just about ready to pass out.” Meta Knight yawned again, setting his cup to the side, and stretched his wings. Then his fatigued body gave out and he suddenly collapsed onto the table, his head ramming into the hardened wood. He winced from the impact, but the puff stayed there, not even making a move to pick himself up in his exhaustion. Dedede raced to his side, picking the knight up and hugging him.

“Sweet Nova, Mety, are ya okay?! That was one loud crash…”

“What?” At first, the warrior blinked in confusion, then pushed himself into Dedede's chest, making the pain flare up. “I'm fine, Dedede, really. It just fucking hurts so much…”

“Damn right it hurts! Ya just slammed yer head into the table!” Meta Knight whimpered and curled up in his arms, and Dedede realized he probably shouldn't have been yelling at a puff who probably had a severe headache. The king could already see a fresh bruise where the blue puff had slammed himself into the table, despite the knight’s best attempts to cover it. “Sorry, Mety, shouldn't have yelled at ya. Ya don't gotta patrol today if ya don't want to.”

“I have to do something today… the castle won't patrol itself. It's just that my head is pounding too much for me to focus on anything.”

The king forced down a spark of worry, holding the warrior closer to him. “Ya better rest then, Mety. And maybe we should get ya to a doctor, ya might have a concussion. Or maybe I can-”

“Get me some water and carry me while I patrol,” the knight said, both paws clutching his head.

Dedede blinked in surprise. “Yer still gonna patrol? Mety, no! Ya can't walk around like that! You'll injure yerself again!”

“That's why you'll be doing the walking for me. Just one round, Dedede? Please?” The puff gazed up at the penguin, trying his best to replicate Kirby’s puppy-eyed look. Dedede glared at him, but when he saw that the puff still gazed at him, he sighed.

“Ugh, fine! Climb on.” Meta Knight's face lit up and he reached for his mask. When he couldn't get it, the king picked it up and handed it to him, letting him clip it on before giving the knight a boost onto his shoulders. The warrior held on to Dedede’s hat as the king started walking around the castle. 

“Ya only get to do this jus’ this once, ‘kay?” Dedede grumbled. “An’ after this, yer gonna go to my room an’ rest up, ya hear? I’ll get a doctor to come check ya out later.”

“Don’t need…” Meta Knight’s sentence was cut off with a yawn and his snuggling deeper into the king’s fluffy hat. “A doctor…”

“Yeah, ya do. It'll at least make me feel better if I know someone's lookin’ after ya. Ya rest up, and someone will come over after yer nap.”

“Nap sounds good… ‘m tired…” The warrior yawned again and closed his eyes to sleep, his paws clutching the fluff on Dedede's hat. The king noticed this, and instead of continuing around the castle, he turned around and headed for his room like he'd promised.

After not sleeping for so long, Dedede decided that his knight deserved to be treated well, and he wanted to give the puff some kingly treatment. Meta Knight hadn't yet noticed the change of direction, him being half-asleep on the king's shoulders. Dedede carefully opened the doors, flinching when he heard them squeak, and walked to his soft bed. The penguin lifted his knight off him and gently tossed him onto the bed; the warrior was immediately swallowed up by the sheets and pillows and when Dedede looked at him, he was already asleep.

“Sleep well, lil’ Mety Knighty. Ya deserve it.”

* * *

Meta Knight stayed asleep for the rest of the day. When the king passed his bed to get ready for the night, the puff was still soundly asleep, his chest steadily rising and falling. Dedede considered waking the knight to check on his injury, but decided against it when the warrior rolled over and latched onto one of his pillows with a smile.

“Really has been too long since Meta slept,” the king sighed, climbing into bed next to the puff. “Can't help but feel bad for ‘im. Still, I hope he wakes up tomorrow so he can get that bruise of his checked out…” The knight suddenly whimpered, clutching the pillow tighter, and his face was contorted into a pained grimace. He mumbled incoherent words to himself and while the penguin couldn’t tell what the blue puff was saying, his words were desperate.

“An’ o’ course he has to get a nightmare right now… Nova have mercy on ‘im,” Dedede muttered to himself. He turned to the puff and hugged him, stroking his back and whispering to him. 

“It's fine, Meta. It's just a nightmare, it ain't gonna hurt ya. Stay calm, ‘cause none o’ that is real. I'll be right ‘ere.” The king felt relieved when he saw the warrior calming down, and he covered the puff under his robe. “Yeah, that’s right. Jus’ fall back asleep again, and you’ll be better in the mornin’. Or whenever ya actually wake up…” Dedede kept petting Meta Knight until he eventually fell asleep himself, and when he woke up, the knight was clearly awake, albeit face-down on the bed.

“Mety? Ya okay there?” The king picked him up, noting how limp the warrior’s body was in his arms. Meta Knight groaned and groggily opened his eyes, not wanting to be disturbed at all.

“Put me down…” The knight tried rolling out of Dedede’s grasp, but he was too sore from his recent lack of movement to do much. “I have work to do, Your Majesty…”

“Nuh-uh! Not like that, ya don't! Mety, ya’ve worked yerself stiff for the past week. Relax already, an’ lemme take care of ya!” Dedede fluffed up his robe and set the puff down inside it. Slowly rubbing the warrior's back and wings, the king noticed how Meta Knight had almost fallen asleep again.

“For the rest of the day, our roles will be switched, ‘kay, Mety Knighty? I'll take care o’ everythin’ ya do as best I can while bein’ at yer service.”

The knight looked up and yawned. “What am I going to do then…”

“Laze around an’ sleep all day, o’ course! Ya ain't doin’ nothin’ while yer exhausted like that. Rest, an’ the doctor’ll come by ‘fore ya know it.”

“I certainly won't object… but, um… if I may ask something…”

“Yeah, Mety?”

“Do I really need a doctor?”


End file.
